Every small business relies on new customers for growth. Here are a few simple ideas for getting more people through the doors. New customers are the lifeblood of every small business. They provide valuable new sources of revenue (always a good thing) and they provide...

Here’s a few ideas for how you can promote your business for St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re an Irish pub, promoting and celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is easy. All you need is green food dye (see above). But what if your business has nothing to do with Gaelic...

One idea: Increase your store’s Instagram following by hiring an artist to paint a mural or decorate a wall with photo-popping color. In this previous post, we listed a few ways you can improve your Instagram profile beyond posting great photos. But let’s circle...

Congrats! Your business just had one of its best quarters for revenue ever. But after you’re done paying all your suppliers, the success brings you back down to earth. If you’d like to improve your cash flow, consider negotiating the terms from your...

Are independent grocery stores a dead man walking? Are they no longer relevant? After all, Walmart and Amazon are gobbling up greater grocery sales, while Albertson’s and Kroger’s continue marching towards monolithic status. The recent consolidation in the...

How is a neighborhood or regional grocery store supposed to compete with the likes of Walmart, Target and Costco, all of which a short drive away? Not to mention the ease of online grocery shopping thanks to Amazon and other etailers. Last year, Walmart swallowed over...

If you’re the owner or general manager, the first step to increasing profits is to put on your customer hat. In fact, pretend you know nothing about the grocery retail industry. Take a day and visit several markets in your metro area. What do you notice? Which...

Is your small business hiring? Consider hiring a veteran? Sure, you may have heard that the the veteran unemployment rate mirrors the current national trend of low unemployment. That’s the good news. The bad news, however, is labor statistics don’t always...

Suppose your small business earned $500,000 in revenue this year, compared to $300,000 last year. That’s great news, right? Not necessarily. A business that does $300,000 in sales may profit handsomely, say, to the tune of $200,000, whereas a $500,000 business...